Canada have not yet taken the final step towards a World Cup ticket, but their first World Cup appearance in 36 years is still on the cards. There were no goals in the prestige duel Mexico-USA.
Canada – still without Bayern pro Alphonso Davies (after heart muscle inflammation) – missed out on early World Cup qualification with a 0:1 against Costa Rica, but that should not be too dramatic. The leaders of the North and Central American finals are still only one point short of their second World Cup appearance in history – and first in 36 years – after losing on aggregate. Mark-Anthony Kaye was shown a yellow card in the 34th minute and Celso Borges scored the winning goal for the Ticos just before the break. “
“We can control our own destiny,” Canada coach John Herdman said. “We’ll take care of business on Sunday and if we don’t get it done then, we’ll get it done in Panama. We will go to Qatar.”
Costa Rica moved up to fourth in the table with the home win and kept their hopes of a trip to Qatar alive. The top three CONCACAF teams qualify directly for the World Cup finals at the end of the year, with the fourth-placed team having to play a play-off against a team from Oceania (probably New Zealand).
USA now against Panama
The USA and Mexico remain tied on points in second and third place after a disappointing 90 minutes in a head-to-head 0-0 draw. Both teams are three points behind Canada and three points ahead of Costa Rica with 22 points each.
Two matchdays remain. The USA face Panama, who dropped to fifth after a 1-1 draw with Honduras but still have a chance of direct qualification. Honduras are bottom of the table and host Mexico in their penultimate qualifying match.
